Saved from the Junkyard

[Sal Paradise]

I got this bike on CL for $200 delivered to my house! ... a 1981 Suzuki GS250 with 6k miles... Same block and frame as a GS450, I am told.....guy had the title.

The lights turned on but nothing else. I figured it was worth the gamble for that price.

I put a starter in it ($20 on ebay). Cleaned the carbs about 10 times upsized the main jets ..,new plugs and reinstalled the regulator and cleaned up the grounds.

The bike runs perfect. Almost like a brand new bike. Passed inspection, registered and on the road and between myself my wife, son, and various friends of mine we have put 2k miles on it. No problems except a bag plug cap one time.

It has 6 speeds, 8 valves, dual carbs, TSCC and makes about 25 hp. Its actually really fun around the village here- feels like a six speed scooter. Funny , you crank it up and it feels like you are really flying and you look at the speedo and you are going 45 mph.. Top speed - well I have had it up to 75....but its nuts. Main thing is - everything works. I mean everything - gauges, lights, everything. No leaks. Tires are okay but faint lines at the bead make me think they are fairly old.

I don't know what to do with it long term if anything. Thought of making a cafe out of it but it is so small..for all that effort might as well do a 500 or larger.....anyway it only costs $14 to register and - I kid you not - $27 a year (!) to add it to my insurance, so ,as long as it continue to run well, I will keep it in my garage.

Anyway, they are out there - you never know.

 

[Bonafide]

HA! That's cool - amazing when you find them all in one piece like that. Not sure I'd cafe a bike that small in displacement - just me though cause people do love cafe'in just about anything. Tags on my CB are $20 a year .. if I was still living in rural TN - tags for anything with wheels are $23.

 

[Iceseven]

Great score! Amazing how tough those bikes are.

 

[koifarm]

Cool find Sal, man, I'd leave it just as it is....classic....Ain't CL a good thing, I usually hit it once a day at least....it's where I found my sidecar....CL (Richmond VA)
Can't believe $200 man, that is a steal!.....Heck, I'd give ya $225 for it right now......lmao

 

[Sal Paradise]

Thanks. Yeah - $200 !!! I knew you guys would appreciate it. It was like buying a raffle ticket. Could have been worthless. Turned out to be a sweet heart. This bike was somebody's baby, which is what I had guessed based on how it looks. You never know, but if they look original and complete they are probably fine. The bike is fun for running down to the store or bombing around town. At 28 years old its old enough that other riders ask me about it.

Something about bringing an old bike back to life just makes you feel great.

 

[musicswapshoppe]

I still have my 79 Kawazaki Z250. Never use it anymore though as it does have a lot of low grunt, am looking for a light sidecar for it, to run on short errands. Dont change a thing mate, keep it original. A. Not worth hassle and cost B. will only go up in price if original.

 

[ivar]

Same block and frame as a GS450, I am told.....guy had the title.

Put a 450 top end on it..?

 

[Sal Paradise]

I suppose you could, but it never going to be fast and the stock suspension is cheap. I am 250 lbs so I can really bottom it out. As far as wrenching, I probably will be taking on either a vintage brit bike or a Honda this fall, so thats where I will put my energy.

I don't know what the real use of these 250's is. They are great for running around town or taking your road test and maybe cruising around some back roads near the house. But they aren't really suitable for most of our high speed or long distance type riding.

I just don't know, but then again it cost me almost nothing so I can just keep it. I'd like to trade it with some cash for a a bigger bike.

 

[buckstoy]

Cool looking bike Sal, but is it just me or are your forks bent. Maybe its just the pic but it looks like it has hit something?:huh:

 

[D9]

cool little bike... for $200 ya did good!

 

[Sal Paradise]

buckstoy, good eye. No one who has ridden or seen the bike since i bought it has mentioned it, but my eye picks it up.

It does look like they are very slightly bent but there is no evidence anywhere else of any impact. Not sure what, if anything to do about it.

 

[DIRK]

tyres, check the mfr date it is in an oval near the dot # 4 #'s 1st 2 are week then year. i would guess if they are cracking 7 or 8 yrs old and dangerous. you can get a cheap pair of duros or chang chin's cheap w new tubes you will be suprised it will auctually grip the road.
good job for the 2large!

 

[Sal Paradise]

the downside to owning one of these little bikes is - you own it. As much as its a sweet little thing, I have to buy new tires now, fork tubes (which do appear to be slightly bent) , one side cover that my son lost while riding it, and I will have to put stiffer springs in the forks so its not so mushy with my fatness aboard.

The total for all thats gotta be 3 times the price of the bike - for a bike I won't really ride anywhere, for what - so my wife can putt around the neighborhood 3 times a year ...

 

[airspro]

for a bike I won't really ride anywhere, for what - so my wife can putt around the neighborhood 3 times a year ...

Yep PLUS 1 on that .

Only I bought mine a Red one just like the one you have now brand new , back when I was young and dumb thinking that she would "use" it , ha .

I know better now , if she wants something , she will either buy it herself or go without . Least this way I know she at least wants it bad enough to at least shop for it .

===

I got a Vespa moped takeing up space atm that she says "I will ride it SOMEDAY" oh ya I bet . Been almost a year and she has yet to even sit on it . I bought it for myself thinking that I could "get by" with it and not buy another motorcycle . Well I feked that up as it didn't do it and now she's in this keeping it mode on me and the damn thing while nice , just takes up room

++++

I think we both should just sell them

 

[Sal Paradise]

Yesterday I installed forks, mag wheels and tires from a GS450 on the bike. Everything bolted on just fine. I took the bike out for a short ride and the handling seemed much improved.

Here is my problem, or question; the back tire is so much wider that the chain is literally 1/8" from the tire. Should I take it apart and move the sprocket out with washers or shims? Or is it fine? The bearings and cush drive are all good. But my fear is if in a corner the wheel shifts or something and the tire catches the chain. They are nice new tires. It was a 3.5 x 17 and now its 120/90 - 16. Here is a picture of the wheel.

 

[Sal Paradise]

For general information, it appears totally feasible to shim out the cush drive for a wider wheel. I figured that using the same hub for different models probably meant that the engineers had to change the sizes of the spacers in order to keep the sprockets aligned on different bikes.. I checked the Suzuki part numbers for the spacers and found out they were indeed different on the 450 model versus the 250. Therefore I just shimmed out the inside cush drive spacer with a washer inside and ground off the equivalent thickness on the spacer on the outside brake side. This effectively moved the wheel to the right one washer thicknes or about about 1/8". this gave me 1/8" chain clearance without offsetting the sprocket.

 

[sweatmachine]

If the chain clears I wouldn't worry about it. My bike is the same way because I installed the wider mag wheel/tire combo on the back but I didn't offset anything. I think I have about 1/8" or maybe a pubimeter more, but it's got clearance Clarence so I call it good! No problems since fitting it many thousands of miles ago.

 

[MES]

it appears totally feasible to shim out the cush drive for a wider wheel

you do not shim out the cush drive. You shim out the sprocket.

HOWEVER
you must be aware, take notice, that the chain is still in line or not mismatched to badly other wise you will eat chains and sprockets.

the best would be a backing plate to act as the shim. Easy enough to make.

 

[Sal Paradise]

"you do not shim out the cush drive. You shim out the sprocket."

Hmmm .....why?I will have to post a picture, but what I wanted to say is I put one washer INSIDE the cush drive up against the bearing. Look at this pic-

I put a washer up against the bearing that you are looking at. This moved the wheel. I did not put washers under the sprocket as some suggest. hat would have made the chain crooked. Also, the sprocket is still bolted on tight, with no washers. Is that wrong? It worked perfectly. I post this only for someone who might have a tire/chain clearance problem. It was actually kind of an interesting little engineering problem.The chain is still exactly where it always was, I moved the wheel over 1/8"


Sweat - good to hear that you run that close without any problems. There is very little written and experience is the best. I hate to put something together wrong, so I usually do it twice. :stupid2:

 

[biker7]

Hi Sal,
If you moved the wheel over then your front and rear wheel are no longer in alignment inspite of maintaining a good chain line and adequate chain clearance to the tire. Some compensation can be made with the yaw alignment of the rear wheel itself as you adjust your chain tension and lock the axle in place.
If you don't notice a handling or braking downside, call it good....all a matter of degree and bike specific.

Cool little bike and nice story. I like your anecdote about...the problem being you own it...now what. For what you did relative to outlay you can always Craiglist it, turn a profit and find another with a bigger motor. What used to work on houses may still work on motorcycles
George